How Did a Cat Save a Colorado Community from the Floods?

by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell Thursday, September 19, 2013

Most people would reprimand their cat for jumping on their chest and waking them up from a deep sleep. This was not the case when Jezebel, a cat in Estes Park, Colo. woke her owner, instead it prompted her family to say they would treat her like a queen for the rest of her days.

When Jezebel jumped on Jon Johnson and yowled, she woke him up to the rushing Big Thompson River, which was already flooding the cottages he and his wife, Deyn, rented to vacationers. Everyone had just minutes to evacuate. The water was already shin deep on Deyn’s leg and rose to knee deep within one minute.

The couple ran from cottage to cottage yelling, “Purse! Keys! Medicine! Go!” to the occupants of the Whispering Pines, according to The Washington Post.

This year marked the 20 year anniversary that the Johnsons have managed the cabins, but now they are gone from the devastating floods. Two were overturned on their sides and three were completely swept away.

Still, they are thankful that Jezebel was there to save all of them. “We had no warning other than the cat,” Deyn told The Washington Post. “She is going to be treated like a queen for the rest of her life.”